School gives to Seaside Heights families

Dec. 20, 2012

Written by

Kristi Funderburk

@kfunder

Vanessa Vendola, a third-grade teacher at Hugh J. Boyd Elementary School, helps parents select a gift for their child during the school's Holiday of Hope event on Wednesday, Dec. 19.

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SEASIDE HEIGHTS — As parents came into the high school wing that has become their children’s makeshift school after superstorm Sandy, they entered a holiday haven that would rival Santa’s workshop.

Presents wrapped in vibrant colors and bows and teddy bears sat atop classroom desks waiting to be plucked for a new home under a tree.

Hugh J. Boyd Elementary School teachers and staff organized Holiday of Hope so their students could have a few gifts for the holidays. None knew if the parents could afford much of a Christmas with so many facing costly damages after Sandy.

“We wanted to make sure we could give them something special,” said Tiffany Aroneo, a special education teacher. “We wanted to make sure they had something to open on Christmas morning.”

There were about 150 toys available, ranging from Uno card games to toy digital cameras, Play-Doh and Barbie dolls, Aroneo said.

Seaside Heights resident Jose Olivio, 38, said the gifts would bring some much-needed cheer after his family lost everything in the storm. “I feel grateful. I don’t feel like I deserve all this, but I’m grateful.”

The Boyd School created an Amazon.com wish list and shared it through Facebook. Friends, families and community members helped fulfill the list, Aroneo said. On Wednesday, staff welcomed about 100 parents to Central Regional, where the Boyd school is temporarily located, to shop for free.

Seaside Heights resident Michelle Boucher, 32, left with a bag of toys for her 7-year-old son, Evan.

“It’s huge for our kids,” she said of the town. “It gives them normalcy and to know how much people care about them even though they lost so much.”